Saving Seafood

Officials negotiating extending 2017 Red Snapper season

June 7, 2017 — CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Fisheries directors from Texas and four other gulf states have been meeting with federal decision makers to decide whether or not to extend the 2017 red snapper fishing season for recreational anglers, which began June 1 and ended June 3. It lasted three days.

If extended, the longer federal season would open up more weekends this summer for recreational fishermen to pursue red snapper in the deeper, often more plentiful federal waters – which begin nine miles from the shoreline. On the other hand, it may also threaten year-round access to fishing for red snapper in state waters off Texas.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration allotted only three days this year for recreational anglers to fish in federal waters within the Gulf of Mexico. According to Captain Scott Hickman, who operates a charter boat in the Texas gulf, the short season is the result of high harvesting in Florida, which impacts the regulations placed on anglers in other states.

Read the full story at KRIS-TV

LOUISIANA: Red Snapper proposals stir controversy

June 5, 2017 — Earlier this week, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries proposed a lottery for 150 anglers who would be granted an unlimited red snapper season of two fish per day. The proposal has not gone over well among the fishing community, including the Coastal Conservation Agency.

“Unfortunately the department of wildlife and fisheries and governors office put out a proposal … that is basically the precursor to catch shares and fish tags,” Rad Trasher, director of development for CCA Louisiana, said. “They don’t work in the recreational segment, and we have seen that time after time. You shouldn’t have to create winners and losers, and that’s what this program does. It is spearheaded by a bunch of people who are not fisherman, that are not from the state of Louisiana and it is hurting not only the fisherman but the marina owners, the sporting goods stores, and everybody in between.”

Many Louisianians believe fish surveys in the Gulf are flawed and do not accurately portray the multitude of Red Snapper in Louisiana and federal waters.

The Louisiana Legislature has voted overwhelmingly in favor of a measure urging the fisheries department to scrap its 150-angler pilot study. The vote was 85-6 in the state House and 29-0 in the state Senate.

Read the full story at ABC WGNO 

LOUISIANA: Official says red snapper plan will result in higher harvest

June 2, 2017 — The head of the Fisheries Division of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says a pilot program designed to give a select few recreational anglers access to a sizable portion of the Gulf’s red snapper quota is simply an effort to reduce statistical error in the agency’s scientific analysis.

Patrick Banks told NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune Tuesday the exempted fishing permit, which has drawn howls of protest from the recreational-fishing industry, is designed to improve accuracy of LA Creel, an innovative fish-counting program designed by department biologists that has served as a guide for other Gulf states.

The EFP would allow 150 anglers, selected at random, to harvest 25,000 pounds of red snapper in both 2018 and 2019. These anglers would have no daily limits, and would be legally allowed to fish federal waters any time they like. In 2017, the red snapper season in federal waters for all private-boat anglers was only three days.

The proposal fits in with a seven-pronged approach the agency is working on to try to gain management authority over red snapper, Banks said.

The hallmark of that plan, according to Banks, is a so-called Louisiana-only amendment that would give the state full management authority of the fish in both state and federal waters in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Louisiana was given the go-ahead to flesh out the idea by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, but must ultimately present details of the plan to the council for a final up or down vote.

Read the full story at The Times-Picayune

LOUISIANA: Recreational-fishing groups blast Wildlife & Fisheries red snapper plan

May 30, 2017 — Over the holiday weekend, a national magazine and two conservation organizations slammed Louisiana’s plan for a pilot program that would give 150 recreational anglers the right to harvest 25,000 pounds of red snapper.

In a column published on sportfishingmag.com, Sport Fishing Editor Doug Olander called the program “a solid bitch-slapping to the recreational-fishing community.” Olander said the plan is a step toward “catch-shares,” in which individuals are awarded a percentage of the overall quota and are allowed to harvest their fish without restrictions until they reach their specific quotas.

A similar system exists for the commercial sector of the red snapper fishery, and in the column, Olander acknowledged that catch-shares are sometimes the best way to protect the interests of commercial fishers. For the recreational sector, however, Olander says the catch-share system “fits about as well as a ballerina’s tights on a sumo wrestler.”

One of Olander’s problems with the concept is no one has offered a reasonable and equitable method for applying it. If tags are involved, anglers would have to either purchase tags or be awarded them through a lottery. Either technique would lock certain anglers out of the fishery, awarding a public resource to the wealthy or lucky.

That’s what has happened on the commercial side, where so-called Sea Lords who own large percentages of the quota lease it out to fishers, who actually go out and harvest the fish. Many of the Sea Lords stay on dry land earning massive paychecks from a public resource.

The American Sportfishing Association also blasted Louisiana’s proposal, sending out a Friday news release stating it was “deeply concerned with the long-term ramifications of the pilot program that the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries unveiled on May 25, to the surprise of the entire recreational fishing community.”

Read the full story at The Times-Picayune

Louisiana wants to give 150 anglers unlimited access to 25,000 pounds of red snapper

May 25, 2017 — Despite vehement opposition from recreational-fishing advocacy groups, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says it has worked up a pilot program that will award a significant portion of the state’s red snapper haul to select recreational anglers.

The department announced the plan in a Thursday afternoon press release, just one day after meeting with pro-recreational fishing groups and mentioning nothing about the program.

Under the pilot program, which would run in 2018 and 2019, a total of 150 anglers would be selected at random to receive 25,000 pounds of the recreational red snapper quota. Those anglers would not be subject to daily bag limits or season restrictions.

The structure would be similar to what exists in the commercial sector, where fishers have been awarded percentages of the overall commercial quota, and may harvest their red snapper at any time during the year. The system, called individual fishing quotas, has been panned by recreational-fishing organizations as well as good-government groups because it has set up so-called Sea Lords, who own quota and make hundreds of thousands of dollars on a public resource without ever leaving the dock.

Gov. John Bel Edwards lauded the department’s proposal.

“As a fisherman myself, that sounds like a lot better system than squeezing all of my red snapper fishing into June when there might be bad weather or when family obligations get in the way,” Edwards stated in the news release.

NOAA Fisheries announced last month the 2017 recreational red snapper season in federal waters would run three days, June 1-3. It’s the shortest federal red snapper season in history.

Read the full story at The Times-Picayune

Louisiana proposal might extend federal red snapper season

May 25, 2017 — Louisiana wildlife officials are proposing an experiment that could someday enable private recreational fishermen to catch highly sought Gulf of Mexico red snapper any time of year in federal waters.

The federal season, designed to conserve red snapper, is usually brief. This year it runs June 1-3. Critics say the short season hurts Gulf tackle shops, marinas and other businesses catering to private anglers.

“I asked Wildlife and Fisheries to develop a program that could eventually lead to Louisiana controlling Red Snapper fishing, even in what is determined to be federal waters,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a Thursday news release. “This pilot program could not come soon enough as the federal government has limited anglers to just three days to fish red snapper this year.”

If the proposal is approved by federal regulators, Louisiana would choose 150 people to participate in a pilot program: They could fish in federal waters any time of the year, with an annual limit of 20 red snapper, Assistant Secretary of Wildlife and Fisheries Patrick Banks said in an interview.

Read the full story at the Bradenton Herald

LOUISIANA: State seeks approval to test red snapper program

May 26, 2017 — State officials say they hope a trial program could lead to longer red snapper seasons for Louisiana anglers. It’s the latest action in a years-long debate over the seasons’ length and how federal authorities determine it.

“I asked Wildlife and Fisheries to develop a program that could eventually lead to Louisiana controlling red snapper fishing, even in what is determined to be federal waters,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a news release today. “This pilot program could not come soon enough, as the federal government has limited anglers to just three days to fish red snapper this year.”

Recreational fishermen have complained that federal authorities have set overly restrictive catch limits and unnecessarily short seasons for red snapper despite a rebound in the fish’s numbers. Environmentalists and federal regulators, including NOAA Fisheries, contend the species still needs protection after years of overfishing.

Louisiana has long sought authority to manage red snapper fishing in the Gulf of Mexico’s federal waters, which begin three miles off its coast but have recently been extended to nine miles for the species.

“Just like the governor, we have heard from anglers across Louisiana and it is clear what they want most is the flexibility to fish for red snapper when it makes sense for them and their families,” state Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Jack Montoucet said. “So we are going to test a new way of doing this.

Read the full story at Houma Today 

Groups Praise Oliver as likely NMFS assistant administrator

May 19, 2017 — Pacific Seafood, fishing organizations and other groups, praised the likely appointment of Chris Oliver, executive director of the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council, as the next assistant administrator for Fisheries at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the United States.

Oliver, who was championed for the position by major U.S. seafood processors and organizations, confirmed the appointment in an email to SeafoodSource, which was also sent to his staff members.

“I have been contacted by the Department of Commerce, offered the position, and have accepted the position, with a tentative start date of June 19,” Oliver wrote.

However, Oliver stressed that the appointment is not final yet, since it is still subject to the White House vetting and approval process.

“I, and Commerce, would have preferred to keep this information close hold until the full appointment process is indeed finalized; but, given the timing involved, and the necessary transitional aspects involved, I feel it is incumbent upon me to let everyone know the status of this,” he said.

Oliver has served as the executive director of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council for the past 16 years. Prior to serving as executive director, Oliver also worked as the deputy director of the council and as Gulf of Alaska Fishery Management Plan Coordinator.

Since January, Pacific Seafoods, American Seafoods Company, other processors, and several fishing groups, have pushed for Oliver’s appointment. Other candidates for the job included LaDon Swann with the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium and Robert Barham, who previously served as wildlife and fisheries secretary in Louisiana.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

GOP lawmakers to Trump administration: Fix red snapper season

May 16, 2017 — Five southern Republican lawmakers are calling on U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to extend the number of days for this year’s recreational red snapper season.

Among those signing a letter sent to Ross on Monday is U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Fairhope, who calls the current three-day recreational season as “simply not acceptable.”

The season is scheduled to run from June 1-3. It makes it the shortest recreational season ever for red snapper fishing in the Gulf of Mexico’s federal waters.

“Anyone who knows anything about Gulf Coast fisheries would agree that the red snapper fishery is incredibly healthy,” Byrne said.

The letter was signed by Byrne and fellow U.S. House members – John Carter and Randy Weber of Texas, Garret Graves of Louisiana and Steven Palazzo of Mississippi.

“We feel re-evaluating your agency’s decision for the 2017 seasons is warranted, and we urge you to continue working with us to develop a long-term solution to address these issues impacting our recreational fishermen and coastal communities,” the letter states.

Read the full story at AL.com

Pilot program would give Louisiana control of red snapper stocks for three years

May 8, 2017 — The head of the Fisheries Division of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries on Thursday told the board that regulates his agency he’s optimistic Louisiana may get to manage red snapper in federal waters off the state’s coast in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Patrick Banks updated the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission about a proposal he made to the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council that would establish a pilot program allowing Louisiana to manage red-snapper stocks in both state and federal waters off its coast for three years. By an 11 to 5 vote, the council approved the proposal, which gives Louisiana the go-ahead to flesh it out into an actual amendment that would ultimately need to be approved by the advisory panel.

“It’s not everything we want, but it’s certainly a better ride than what we’ve got right now,” Banks told the commission.

Details of the plan must still be worked out, and Banks said it’s possible the council will alter the ultimate amendment so much it will look nothing like what’s originally proposed. But his intention is to allow Louisiana to set seasons and regulations out to 200 nautical miles off the coast during the three years of the pilot program to demonstrate how regional management might work.

Banks cautioned, however, that wouldn’t mean a 365-day season with high daily limits.

Under the proposal, state anglers would get access to Louisiana’s historical catch, which is 15.8 percent of the total Gulf recreational red snapper quota. Based on current numbers, that would be about 1.1 million pounds of red snapper.

Since more waters would be open to anglers from the Texas to Mississippi state lines, Louisiana’s share of the quota would be much more quickly reached than under the current management regimen. In 2016, the federal season was only 11 days, but state waters were open to red snapper harvest for nearly nine months.

Read the full story at the Times-Picayune